I was thinking today what it is, at the very core, that I love about this show and I've come to the conclusion that it's because I find pretty much all of the characters to be interesting. That's a great achievement that the writers and actors (and, of course, GRRM) have pulled off. Yes, there are certain characters I favor more than others but I don't find myself getting impatient when those characters aren't on the screen. I'm genuinely interested in Daenerys' struggle to survive, in Arya's journey on the Kingsroad, Sansa's torment under Joffrey, Jon's adventures beyond the wall, and so forth. It's quite rare for me to invest in so many characters at once like this, and not find myself thinking "I wish they'd show so-and-so" whilst watching a scene taking place somewhere else. They've managed to add new characters this season that have also interested me. Having never read the books, I know nothing about Davos but I'm genuinely interested in finding out why Stannis means so much to him and what Melisandre's endgame is.

Of course, that's only a fraction of the reason why I'm enjoying this show but it's certainly one of the main reasons why I'm tuning in each week.

I imagine almost every episode from now on will probably be missing one or two of the major characters/plot threads, except presumably the premieres and finales (and maybe not even then). There's just too much to juggle without making every episode a kaleidoscope of vignettes. They'll have to focus in on character A for a good chunk of the runtime, give character B a few scenes, maybe check in for one scene each with characters C, D and E, and ignore character F entirely that week.

Such a great moment. It's hard to piece Varys together, but he's easily one of the most compelling characters to watch with Conleth Hill playing him. Both of his secret dungeon visits with Ned back in the first season, where he speaks more about his motivations and Ned's unique situation, are some of my favorite scenes so far.

So this season is pretty much to babies what the last season was to horses?

Great episode. Anybody who complains about Carice Van Houten in this show needs to drink their own poison. Woman is a vision, pure and simple. The casting directors show yet again they are the best in the business IMO. Not a single weak link in the whole main cast (as of yet). I also want to give props to the woman playing Yara (Theon's sister), can't remember her name but the smug expression on her face in the scene with Balon was priceless.

This show is just on fire right now. The scene where Tyrion plants his various seeds was just all around brilliant. Brienne and Margaery are perfectly cast. Theon's scene with his father and then him burning the note did so much to advance his character. And yes, the second coin, but also the look on Tyrion's face after he gives it to her.

God damn. That was a masterpiece of TV. Margery is now the best looking gal on the show by far. I'm officially Team Renly. I dig the weird love triangle and I think he has the best attitude to be king.

Really did not miss Stannis at all (but I did miss Davos). Would have liked to have seen Dany. Strange how Vaes Dothraki and Dragonstone were still both in the opening credits.

Bran's storyline is far more compelling than I was anticipating. I love Brienne. Tyrion continues to carry the show with ease.

Varys is still my favorite character. I like how he essentially weaseled his way into being that Hand's hand. Meanwhile Littlefinger put himself into a position to be the Hand's bitch. And Pycelle fumbled the ball and got himself imprisoned. "I swim on" indeed.

Yoren's last stand was the highlight of the season thus far. Was that the Hound or the Mountain at the end? I couldn't tell.

Theon's scene where he finally confronts his dad was very good. I almost cheered when he gave it to him about handing his only son over to the Starks. It was a good bit of "fuck you" truth that Balon rarely gets.

Tyrion's weeding out of the mole was very well handled. I loved the "Cut off his manhood and feed it to the goats" line. "But there are no goats?" "Then make due!" lol.

Yoren's last stand was bad ass. It was Ser Armory Lorch who was the knight that killed him, not the hound or the mountain. Liked the way they handled Lommy Greenhand's death too.

It's still massively hypocritical of him to go on at such length about how he pays the iron price for everything and his people bow to know one. Except the king that he swore fealty to and the lord he handed over his last heir to after they beat his ass for trying what he's about to do again.

My highlight was probably the Theon scenes. Wow, great stuff. I loved how Theon mocked his father briefly over "the iron price" being taken from him. And the scene with Theon lighting the letter on fire in the darkness was probably the most beautiful scene of the season so far.

Another favorite was Vary's riddle, and Tyrion's scheme to figure out who was leaking to Cersei.

So we've just had the first two episodes in NZ and ... I'm kind of not feeling it, certainly not in the way I did in the first series.

it feels like they're juggling SO much that it's hard to get a grip on it. I hope it settles down and certain plotlines get space.to breathe. A quick scour seems to show ep 3 to be a winner, and i've no doubt I'll get into it again. It's possible i'm too hyped for it and need to temper my expectations somewhat.

The scene I liked most was the counter threat exchange between Varys and Tyrion. Such a well played moment.

Both Sansa and Ser Loras looked a lot different tonight, I wondered briefly if either had been recast.

Sansa definatly looked alot defferent, esp in the scene with the queen. she matured alot

In all honesty, I think the show definitely either got some different lighting and make-up/hair folks, or the folks they had have really stepped up their game this season. EVERYTHING looks better, and everyone, it seems. I noticed it in the first episode primarily with Cersei, but as the next couple eps have rolled along it's been readliy apparent with a lot of characters.

It was good to see that Renly isn't just a passive participant in the Tyrells' schemes. He actually seemed "Kingly" and you got a feel for why he's the popular Baratheon brother, even while they still kept him -just- vulnerable enough. Still, he didn't seem as "in over his head" as he did last season.

Another out of the park ep there. Tyrion flushing out snitches and the goat line therein, Theon going into full on "Fuck Winterfell" mode. Much as I love her, I was a bit worried Shea whining would become too much of a recurring thing for comfort, and then they hand her the best possible job. I give it half next week for her to make it abundantly clear she's not taking any of Sansa's shit, and start feeding her ideas.

The second Yoren got into that speech about Willam, I knew he was screwed. "Oh man, I fucking love this guy. I give him half an episode to li--oh. Well then. Moving on." Im onto you, Song of Ice and Fire, you bastard.

Another out of the park ep there. Tyrion flushing out snitches and the goat line therein, Theon going into full on "Fuck Winterfell" mode. Much as I love her, I was a bit worried Shea whining would become too much of a recurring thing for comfort, and then they hand her the best possible job. I give it half next week for her to make it abundantly clear she's not taking any of Sansa's shit, and start feeding her ideas.

The second Yoren got into that speech about Willam, I knew he was screwed. "Oh man, I fucking love this guy. I give him half an episode to li--oh. Well then. Moving on." Im onto you, Song of Ice and Fire, you bastard.

I just loved Margaery's response to the situation.

"Do you want me to bring my brother in here to start you off? I don't mind."